Estimation of the effects of radiotherapy treatment delays on tumour responses: A review

Hunter, Alistair; Hendrikse, A.

doi:10.4102/sajo.v4i0.91

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 105 publications

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“…Treatment interruptions beyond 2-7 days reduce the efficacy of radiation treatments. 20 , 21 The uptake of conformal techniques suggests improvement in radiotherapy delivery. However, low utilization rates, underfunding, and poor maintenance contracts prevail.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Breast Cancer Management in Sub-Saharan Africa

Vanderpuye

Dadzie

Huo

et al. 2021

JCO Global Oncology

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PURPOSE To document progress and bottlenecks in breast cancer management in sub-Saharan Africa, subsequent to a 2013 pilot survey conducted through the African Organization for Research and Treatment in Cancer (AORTIC) network. METHODS An anonymous survey of breast cancer management was conducted in 2018 among AORTIC members. Results concerning respondent specialty, access to tumor boards, treatment accessibility, diagnostic services, and factors influencing treatment outcomes were compared with the 2013 findings. RESULTS Thirty-seven respondents from 30 facilities in 21 sub-Saharan Africa countries responded. The majority (92%) were clinical oncologists. Radiotherapy facilities were available in 70% of facilities. Seventy-eight percent of these had linear accelerators, and 42% had cobalt60 machines. Eighty percent of facilities had multidisciplinary tumor boards. Immunohistochemistry was routinely performed in 74% of facilities, computed tomography scan in 90%, bone scan in 16%, and positron emission tomography scans in 5%. Anthracyclines, taxanes, tamoxifen, letrozole, anastrozole, and zoledronic acid were available in the majority; trastuzumab, fertility, and genetic counseling were available in 66%, 58%, and 16%, respectively. There were a 50% increase in oncologist respondents over 2013 and a > 50% increase in radiotherapy facilities, particularly linear accelerators. Availability of trastuzumab, aromatase inhibitors, and taxanes increased. Immunohistochemistry capacity remained the same, whereas facilities harvesting at least 10 axillary lymph nodes increased. Bone scan facilities decreased. Responses suggested improved diagnostic services, systemic therapies, and radiotherapy. Sociocultural and economic barriers, system delays, and advanced stage at presentation remain. CONCLUSION Clinicians in sub-Saharan Africa have basic tools to improve breast cancer outcomes, recording positive strides in domains such as radiotherapy and systemic therapy. Socioeconomic and cultural barriers and system delays persist. Workforce expansion must be prioritized to improve quality of care to improve outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Breast Cancer Management in Sub-Saharan Africa

Vanderpuye

Dadzie

Huo

et al. 2021

JCO Global Oncology

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“…treatment gaps) in radiotherapy delivery can significantly compromise treatment success, local tumour control and overall survival. 91,[93][94][95][96] According to Nagar and Formenti, 91 delaying the start of adjuvant radiotherapy over 8 weeks after surgery will double the risk of local recurrence in breast cancer patients and every week of radiotherapy delay beyond 2 weeks after surgery for high-grade gliomas patients increases the risk of death by 8•9%. Several studies have reported a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on radiotherapy delivery in several cancer centres.…”

Section: Radiation Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the oncologic care continuum: urgent need to restore patients care to pre-COVID-19 era

et al. 2021

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Background: Globally, cancer is the second leading cause of death, and it is estimated that over 18·1 million new cases are diagnosed annually. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted almost every aspect of the provision and management of cancer care worldwide. The time-critical nature of COVID-19 diagnosis and the large number of patients requiring hospitalisation necessitated the rerouting of already limited resources available for cancer services and programmes to the care of COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, the stringent social distancing, restricted in-hospital visits and lockdown measures instituted by various governments resulted in the disruption of the oncologic continuum including screening, diagnostic and prevention programmes, treatments and follow-up services as well as research and clinical trial programmes. Materials and Methods: We searched several databases from October 2020 to January 2021 for relevant studies published in English between 2020 and 2021 and reporting on the impact of COVID-19 on the cancer care continuum. This narrative review paper describes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cancer patient care continuum from screening and prevention to treatments and ongoing management of patients. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted cancer care and the management of cancer services and patients. Nevertheless, the oncology healthcare communities worldwide have done phenomenal work with joint and collaborative efforts, utilising best available evidence-based guidelines to continue to give safe and effective treatments for cancer patients while maintaining the safety of patients, healthcare professionals and the general population. Nevertheless, several healthcare centres are now faced with significant challenges with the management of the backlog of screening, diagnosis and treatment cases. It is imperative that governments, leaders of healthcare centres and healthcare professionals take all necessary actions and policies focused on minimising further system-level delays to cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment initiation and clearing of all backlogs cases from the COVID-19 pandemic in order to mitigate the negative impact on cancer outcomes.

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“…Optimal tumor control requires strict adherence to daily treatment scheduling. Unplanned interruptions are associated with inferior outcomes, including reduced overall survival [2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unplanned interruptions are associated with inferior outcomes, including reduced overall survival. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Independent Predictors for Hospitalization-Associated Radiation therapy Interruptions

Hubler

Wakefield²,

Makepeace³

et al. 2022

Advances in Radiation Oncology

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Estimation of the effects of radiotherapy treatment delays on tumour responses: A review

Cited by 4 publications

References 105 publications

Assessment of Breast Cancer Management in Sub-Saharan Africa

Assessment of Breast Cancer Management in Sub-Saharan Africa

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the oncologic care continuum: urgent need to restore patients care to pre-COVID-19 era

Independent Predictors for Hospitalization-Associated Radiation therapy Interruptions

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